Pabsetti Shekhar, a devout of Lord Ganesha, has an extensive collection of idols. A resident of Hyderabad, Shekhar has collected around 19,022 idols of Lord Ganesha. He also professed to have a wide range of collectibles. The collectibles include a variety of photographs, key-chains, posters and audio-video cassettes of Ganesha. 

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'During my childhood in July 1973, I visited Saibaba temple in Shiridi along with my parents where I brought Ganesh Idol, and that was the time when I started my collection,' Pabsetti Shekhar said. 

He added that he has collected the idols from all across the world. Shekhar informed that his collection includes 32 forms of statues ranging from Bala Ganapati to Sankatahara Ganapati including also the Shub Drishti Ganesh, who is considered to be the 33rd form of Lord Ganesha. The idols are sculpted from various elements like gold, silver, bronze, sandalwood, and rosewood. Pabsetti Shekhar, who is also an artist, has sketched various forms of Ganesha. 

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Hyderabad man in Guinness World Record and LIMCA Book of Records

Pabsetti Shekhar informed the media about his inclusion in the Guinness World Record. He has also been honoured by the LIMCA Book of Records. Shekhar has been awarded in Temple of Fine Arts as well. He notified that currently, he is authoring a book to be named as 'Vishwa Vinayaka'. The book will encapsulate all of the Ganesha Temples, the ones in India and abroad. Shekhar notified his intention of scripting the book for charitable reasons. He also wants to construct a temple in Hyderabad which is going to be a 'Punch Mukha Ganesh' Temple. Shekhar explained his reasons for wanting to construct a temple, elucidating his want to help poor people in need.

READ: Ganesha Idol Collector From Hyderabad Claims To Have 19,022 Idols

Temples go Eco-friendly 

As the nation comes together to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, there has been a boom of people using eco-friendly idols. While some have done this at a home-level, with Ritiesh Deshmukh posting about his mud Ganesha idol, others have done it as part of community celebrations, such as a Bengaluru temple which has made a Ganesha idol out of over 9000 coconuts.

READ: Ganesha Idol Made Of 9000 Coconuts, Bengaluru Temple Goes Eco-friendly

(With inputs from ANI)